Komine, Huskers Hand OU First Big 12 Loss, 10-1

Lincoln - Sophomore right-hander Shane Komine (Honolulu, Hawaii) earned his second complete game victory of the season and the hot-hitting Husker offense recorded 11 hits to hand Oklahoma (13-8, 3-1) its first Big 12 loss of the season, 10-1.

Komine (3-2) walked just two batters, while tying his season high with 12 strikeouts, to give up just one unearned run in the fourth inning. "This is a great way to start off the home season," Husker Head Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Komine hasn't been getting a lot of run support, so it was good to see the team get out there and give him some room to work with."

In Komine's last three outings, the Huskers had combined to score just eight total runs and Komine was charged with two straight losses despite recording double-digit strikeouts each outing.

The Huskers chipped away at OU starter Rocky Cherry (2-3) from the start, scoring one run in each of the first five innings, before plating four runs in the sixth frame. Senior Jamal Strong led off the game with a single and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Dan Johnson. Sophomore Adam Stern opened the second inning with bunt single and scored on an RBI single from freshman Matt Hopper.

In the third, Adam Shabala led off the inning with one of his four walks in the game and scored on a sacrifice fly from Johnson after reaching third on a single from Justin Cowan. Nebraska continued to create runs in the fourth, drawing a pair of walks and capitalizing on two Sooner errors. Stern scored again for NU in the fifth after drawing a walk and scoring on another RBI single from Hopper. John Cole hit a two-run home run to lead the Huskers to four runs in the sixth. Justin Cowan also earned a rare two-RBI sacrifice fly after hitting a deep fly ball into centerfield to score Strong and Shabala.

Evan Greusel came in to close the game for the Sooners in the eighth but surrendered a solo shot to Brandt Vlieger, his second of the year, to cap the Husker scoring. Strong, who exteneded his streak of reaching base to 40 consecutive games, went 3-for-5. Hopper continued his hot hitting with two hits, including a double of the left field wall, and two RBI. Nebraska is hitting .384 over its last five games and has outscored its last five opponents, 58-12. OU and Nebraska will continue the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday.